Career

Evan Lloyd Tanner (born February 11, 1971 in Amarillo, Texas) is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter. He is a former UFC Middleweight and USWF Heavyweight Champion with a professional record of 32 wins and 6 losses. Tanner first won championship gold when he defeated Heath Herring at USWF 7 and would go on to successfully defend that title five times. Tanner then won the UFC Middleweight Title at UFC 51, stopping David Terrell with strikes in the first round. Tanner would lose the belt in his very next fight against Rich Franklin at UFC 53. Despite much speculation as to when he will fight next, Tanner is currently inactive.

Tanner was born in Amarillo, Texas and graduated from Caprock High School in 1989 where he won the Texas State Championships in wrestling as a junior and senior despite not starting to wrestle until he was a sophomore in high school. Tanner attended college but dropped out not because he felt that he was not receiving the kind of education that he was looking for. He then went on to travel around the country for a few years. Tanner eventually returned to Amarillo and was convinced by friends to enter a local mixed martial arts tournament which would serve as the basis for the start of his professional career.

He is widely known for teaching himself submissions and grappling using instructional video tapes created by the famous Gracie family. Tanner later changed this method once he began fighting in the UFC. Tanner is currently single and has no children. He is also an avid motorcycle enthusiast. Tanner became popular to MMA fans because of his myspace webpage in which he spoke candidly about his life and career. Tanner is a believer that a fighter needs to be both skilled and entertaining so fans will get exactly what they are looking for when they watch the sport.